Olivia made it to work a few minutes late. All her detectives were already working leads. She didn't see Fin at his desk, but noticed him sitting on the couch in her office. She sighed. He was either going to pound her with questions about staying with Elliot or yell at her some more for not letting the man love her. Too bad she couldn't avoid it forever. She gave him a genuine smile before sitting in her desk chair.
"You look happy," he observed.
"Yeah. I think I am," she admitted.
"Things went well with Stabler," he raised an eyebrow.
"Sure," she wasn't really ready to drop details right now. For now, last night was hers and his, and no one else's.
"No details?" He obviously wanted more info. Fin was a hopeless gossip.
"Not yet, I think."
"But things are good?" His voice was hopeful.
"Yeah," she couldn't help the smile. "Things are really good."
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Amanda texting Olivia:
A: How are things?
O: Fin talked to you.
A: Of course he did. That man can't keep a juicy secret to himself.
O: Yeah I know.
A: Don't leave me hanging. What if I promise not to say anything to Fin? I need to know how last night went, you know, SLEEPING at Stabler's place.
O: You won't tell Fin? I'm still processing everything. I'm not ready for everything to be common knowledge.
A: Promise. But something did happen, I take it?
O: I mean kinda
A… KILLING ME
O: Okay fine. I dropped the L word okay. He's said it a million times, but I finally said it back.
O: You still there?
A: YES I'M JUST PICKING MY JAW OFF THE DAMN FLOOR!
A: I feel like we need lunch. This can all be talked over text! I need so many more details. So. Much. More.
O: I'm free today, when's your morning class done. Let's go somewhere. I can't talk about this in the precinct.
A: Totally get it. I'm done at 1 and the next class isn't until 3.
O: Great. Meet me at 1:30- You pick the place.
A: I'm seriously still in shock.
O: Oh shh, just get back to work.
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Fin texts Amanda
F: I know she talked to you
A: No
F: Don't lie to me
A: I'm teaching a class
F: No you're not. You were texting Liv.
A: Okay maybe, but I need to end this quiz.
F: I need deets.
A: Fine. Later. I'm having lunch with her. I'll tell you what I can. No promises…
F: I. Need. Details.
A: (Eye roll Emoji)
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Olivia texting Elliot
O: Sleeping?
E: Nah. Trying to find something to watch. I'm so damn bored.
O: I don't know what to suggest. The only stuff I watch is stuff Noah wants to watch.
E: I remember that phase. There is nothing on TV at this time of day.
O: Netflix? Peacock?
E: I forgot those existed. Too busy
O: I hear ya
E: Interesting cases?
O: Nothing out of the ordinary.
E: I might die of boredom
O: Well no one will leave me alone. We are creating rumors.
E: Nothing new
O: True. I'm having lunch with Amanda later. She'll be pressing me for information for sure.
E: What are you eating?
O: No idea- not worried about that-im worried about what to say to Amanda.
E: Bring me back some food when you come over later.
O: Seriously?
E: Rollins is your best friend… tell her what you want. Or don't. Not like she's going to judge you.
O: She'll probably throw a party.
E: haha probably.
O: Shit. Gotta go. I need to look busy.
E: haha have fun with that.
O: thanks for your undying support.
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Oliva groaned at the traffic. Noah's rehearsal went later than planned which set their timing back and now they were in brutal traffic on their way to Elliot's place. Noah pouted in the backseat because he was the reason rehearsal ran late, and no amount of mom love could convince him that he was great even though he couldn't get the combination right for his spotlight with Bella.
Kathleen already called. She needed to head off to work, but she had made dinner so that left one less thing for Olivia to do today. The stop and go traffic, and Noah's random huffs coming from the backseat had her completely keyed up before she finally made it to Elliot's place. She used her key to unlock the door, and Noah pushed past her, still a little grumpy. He dumped his bag on the ground next to the door before sulking over to the couch where Elliot sat with his feet up on the ottoman. "Hey bud, what's wrong?"
Noah fell over onto the couch dramatically and held a pillow over his face. "I sucked today, and the whole practice went long because I couldn't get the combo right, and everyone was mad and I hate today."
Elliot's eyes met hers, she was sure she looked completely worn down from the day. She was grateful when he took it upon himself to diffuse the Noah meltdown. He pulled the pillow off Noah's face and tugged on his arm to sit up, "You gotta help me out Noah, I can't lean over that far."
Noah sighed and sat up and slid closer to where Elliot sat. Elliot purposefully caught Liv's eyes before saying, "Why don't we let your mom have a minute to herself, and we will talk about this whole rehearsal thing."
"Sounds good."
Elliot tilted his head towards the bedroom, and Olivia took that as her cue to retreat and take her 'minute'. She closed the door to his bedroom behind her, and wandered her way to the bathroom. The traffic left her with a pounding headache so she snagged some pain reliever from her overnight bag. She wet a washcloth she found in the top bathroom drawer and laid it on her forehead after dropping into the pillows of Elliot's bed.
She faintly heard the conversation taking place on the other side of the wall, and she was grateful for some parenting back up today. Her mind wandered to the familiar what ifs. What if this worked out? What if this could be their everyday routine? What if Elliot were together, and she didn't have to do every damn thing alone? For once she allowed the fantasy to continue, imagining their day to day. The domestic, and the romantic. She wanted all of it. The thought scared her a little. Life usually didn't give her what she wanted. Actually, most of the time it yanked her desires ruefully from her grasp. The conversation in the kitchen felt so long ago, but Elliot's voice echoed in her mind, blue eyes imploring, begging, " And what if things work out?" Now, things seemed to be working out, and the prospect was both terrifying and exciting. Her impulse to run still bucked for attention in the back of her mind, but the hope for a future with Elliot made her stay.
After about ten minutes her headache abated, and she felt like she could deal with life again. She wandered back towards the living room, but stayed back a little so not to interrupt the conversation happening between the two most important men in her life.
"Mom says you work in a different department."
"Yeah. Organized Crime."
Noah sounded like he was eating while they talked, "I don't know what that is. Well, not really."
"It's tricky to explain, but we try to get a lot of bad people off the streets. Like gang leaders and stuff."
"Okay. I think I get it." Noah shoveled another bite of food. "Do you like it?"
"I do. It's like getting rid of all the bullies at school."
"That'd be nice," Noah said offhandedly.
"Any troubles with bullies?" Elliot asked.
"Not really, at least not lately." Noah circled the conversation back to Elliot. "Do you like your job now better than when you worked with my mom?"
"That's a good question." Elliot thought for a minute. "SVU was great, and I loved working with your mom everyday. That was the best." She could hear the smile in his voice. "But SVU is a hard job. Your mom is pretty special. Most people don't like to stay at SVU so long. It takes a very special person to work with very hurt people everyday."
"Is that why you left? It was too hard?" Olivia nearly came around the corner. Noah was now prying into a can of worms Elliot probably didn't want to open. She stopped herself when Elliot started to answer.
"It was hard, but that's not why I left. I would have stayed forever, but some complicated grown up stuff happened, and I had to leave SVU."
Noah chewed his food for a moment. "It hurt my mom's feelings when you left."
Olivia winced at the blatant honesty, but she continued to let the conversation run its course.
"I know." Elliots voice sounded pained, as it always did when his absence was brought up. "I wish I could change how I did things back then."
"She said you apologized, and she thought you meant it."
"I mean it everytime I say it, but it's not that simple." The sadness crept back into his voice.
"I wish it was," Noah admitted. "She's happier when we're here."
"I wish it was simpler too," Elliot agreed. "But some things take time. Big things take more than a 'sorry' to make them better." She heard Elliot shift his positioning on the couch. "When I was eight my friend and I were messing around and I fell and broke my arm. I was so mad because I had to miss most of the baseball season because my arm was in a cast. My friend apologized, but my arm was still broken. It still hurt. I wasn't mad at him after a while, but my arm still hurt, and I still was sad I missed baseball. It took a long time, but my arm healed and the next baseball season came around, and things were good again. Does that make sense?"
"Maybe. Like even though you and my mom are still friends, she still hurts sometimes?"
"Yeah. I made a big mistake when I left your mom the way I did. It wasn't fair, and it really hurt her. Even though we still are friends, it's like that broken bone. It's not all healed yet."
"I get it." She heard Noah get up and take his plate to the sink.
Olivia figured it was a good time to make her presence known. "Noah, put your plate in the dishwasher, and get your homework binder out. If you can get that done quickly we can watch a quick movie before you need to go to bed."
"K!" he called.
Olivia sauntered over to the couch. Elliot watched her walk over and smiled. She leaned over him and kissed him slowly.
"What was that for?" He asked after their lips parted.
She sat close to him, and he dropped his arm over her shoulders. She lifted her legs onto the couch and snuggled into him. "Thanks."
He dropped a kiss onto her hair, "For what?"
She turned her face upwards to get a better look at him, "For giving me time." She gave him another quick kiss. "For letting me feel what I need to feel, and owning up to your mistake." She kissed him again. "It means a lot."
She snuggled back into his shoulder and he tightened his grip on her shoulder. "I'll give you all the time you need Liv." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "As long as you need."
"Oh," she suddenly remembered, "I brought you dessert from my lunch with Amanda."
"Really?" She could feel his smile with his face laid against her hair.
"Well, it seemed pretty important to you," she teased.
He chuckled, "I love you."
She tilted her face up and kissed him quickly, grinning. "You better," she teased.